Iron Skin
by AzureEclipse007
Summary: They had created monsters we couldn't control. They drugged them, tortured them, eviscerated them. Their minds had been brutalized, but nothing worked, and then they turned. The Infinte Stratos will meet the only weapon that can best them, the warframes.
1. Chapter 1

Here's another plot bunny, and I'm hoping it's appealing. Let me know what you guys think.

* * *

Chifuyu paced the section of the hall anxiously. After all of these years, her brother had finally been found. He was actually in the room that was right in front of her, but the doctors were very hesitant to allow her to see him. Why that was, she dreaded to guess. She assumed that he had gone through the worst when the news had been brought to her attention.

The sound of the door opening finally snapped her out of her long train of thoughts, and she immediately grabbed the doctor by his shoulders. The expression on his face had her concerned.

"You can see him now Ms. Orimura, but please, you must remain calm." He pleaded.

Chifuyu felt a chill go down her spine when he said that. Gathering herself, she nodded, ready to see her little brother. The doctor led her into a holding room with an observational window. On the other side of the window was her brother. Chifuyu felt her heart threaten to jump out of her chest.

Ichika's body was completely unrecognizable. What was once a normal human now looked like a creature from one's wildest imagination. The humanoid in the holding room had a body that was mixed with the colors of white and grey, and she could dashes of red in some places. There were parts, mainly on his legs and arms, that seemed to jut out unaturally. Where his once innocent young face was, was now replaced by a blank featureless helm with what appeared to be a horn sticking straight up from the top of his forehead.

Chifuyu turned to look at the doctor, he was speaking with two nurses that were holding clipboards. All three had nervous expressions on their faces.

"Doctor... What in god's name am I looking at?" She asked, her voice barely over a whisper.

The man felt a bead of sweat fall down the side of his face.

"Ms. Orimura. You may not believe it, or maybe you don't want to, but that is your brother in that room." He said.

Chifuyu looked back at the...thing in the room. Its gaze was directed right at the window.

"But...how? How is that thing my little brother? What happened to him to make him like that?" The questions were coming out of her mouth before she could even think about them. The emotional stress of not seeing her brother for years was finally starting to show.

"Ms. Orimura." The doctor said, taking a clipboard from one of the nurses.

"We took every procedure possible on him. We had to use an industrial drill to even get a blood sample from him. The tests were positive. That is Ichika Orimura in that room." The doctor even pointed toward the alien looking figure in the room.

Chifuyu had to refrain from lunging at the doctor. They used a drill on him? What for?

"Doctor, you used a drill? What could have warrented the usage of such a tool in a medical procedure?" The older of the siblings asked.

"This is where it's difficult to explain Ms. Orimura. When we tried to take his blood sample, we found that his skin is somehow comprised of metal. We were able to identify it as a strong alloy." He explained.

Ichika's body was completely reformed by...whatever it was he had in him. His skin felt exactly like metal, but it retained the same regular human body temperature, along with still actually feeling like skin. The horn on his head? The doctor honestly couldn't tell if that was part of his anatomy or not. It was as if the boy had gone through some sort of horrendous mutation. Luckily the boy was also docile through the procedures.

Chifuyu felt a headache coming on, and decided she would save the information for later. It was already too much to see him after he had been missing for 8 years. She looked at the white figure, and it looked back. Chifuyu debated with herself for a few moments in her head before she decided.

"Can I speak with him?" She inquired, not taking her eyes off of him.

The doctor nodded. "You may, just please take it easy with him. He was calm throughout the procedures, but we don't how he'll react to you. He may or not even remember you." The doctor advised.

Chifuyu nodded and opened the door that led inside of the holding room. Ichika stood completely still, watching her every step. She stopped when she was about six paces away from him, and spoke in a soft tone that no one else had ever heard before, except for himself.

"Ichika, do you remember me?" She hesitantly asked. "It's me, your big sister."

Ichika's horned head nodded in response. Chifuyu felt the knot in her chest come undone, and a feeling of happiness began to swell within her. Though she didn't let her feelings show. Despite how...different he was now, he was still her brother.

The white colored being slowly reached his right arm towards her, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Chifuyu now understood what the doctor said before. Through her black dress top, she could feel that his hand was somewhat metallic in texture.

"Do you want to leave?" She asked.

Ichika nodded, almost eagerly.

Chifuyu left his holding room and made arrangements with the doctor. After talking for about ten minutes, Chifuyu was leading her brother through the halls of the medical facility.

Ichika himself could hear many conversations as he and his sister passed. There were many curious gazes directed at him, but he paid them little mind. What he was really focusing his mind on, was the fact that he had found his sister. After being taken from her, Ichika had undergone drastic changes, in both mind and body.

He internally grimaced at the reminder of his time being experimented on, him and countless other children that were taken from around the world. He hoped that the other were alright as well. It was going to be difficult to adjust to this new start of life, seeing as how he had been indoctrinated to behave differently than the modern times practiced.

The two stepped outside to see a black car waiting for them. Chifuyu beckoned for him to follow, and they both took a seat in the back. It was going to be about half an hour before they arrived at the ISA, so Ichika could peacefully sort out his thoughts until then.

Meanwhile, Chifuyu couldn't help but give worried glances at him once in a while. She had no clue as to what happened to her brother, and she could accurately suspect that it was far from pleasant. He had yet to speak as well, which was another concern. Did they do something that scarred him so bad he was too traumatized to speak? Was he physically unable to anymore? These were such thoughts that were now starting to plague her mind once more.

One thing was for certain though, she would get answers, and she knew exactly who to call to get them, as much as she dreaded doing so.

* * *

Ichika gave his new living quarters a very swift onceover. It was concluded that he was given this particular room to keep him isolated from the general population of the academy. He came to this conclusion due to the fact that on his way here, it became increasingly quiet, and that his room just so happened to be located at the very end of the building. With nothing to do, he brought his legs up in the meditative position, and allowed himself to relax.

Ichika picked up on this practice during his time being isolated from the outside world. He and all of the other children that were abducted had been taught to behave in ways considered to be outdated, ceremonial even. The people who had taken him had done...things that wouldn't even be considered human.

He had been injected with an experimental virus that was designed to attack all of the body's systems. The scientists called it the Helminth. It changed them. It brought to them unimaginable pain as it ate away at them from the inside. His organs had become resilient to where a stab wound wouldn't even so much as be registered. His skin had transformed from hideous plague into strong alloy that could protect him from even the impact of a missile.

The entire process of his and their transformation had been long and brutal. There was nothing to experience but sheer agony. They had been tortured for an entire year without much of a stop. To this day, Ichika still can imagine hearing his younger voice crying to the heavens with dozens of others, only to never have a savior come to their rescue.

The scientists then began to call them the warframes. Ichika could still feel traces of anger lingering within his mind at the mention of why he was taken in the first place. He was taken due to the fact that he, along with the other children all had strong genes. It was an assumption that they all had a high possibility of actually surving a dose of the Helminth virus. It had been confirmed by the leader of the project himself that not just any subject could've survived being polluted with the disease.

The man behind it, Garrett Ballas, wanted to create something that not even Tabane Shinonono would be able to beat. He wanted to best the woman who had toppled the patriachal world. And so, he created the warframes. They were to be set onto world's battlefields, bio-drones under the command of one.

However, it seemed Ballas had forgotten that he was also sending living weapons out into the world. And those living weapons were filled to the brim with righteous anger. They had turned on him, and wiped out every person affiliated with the project. They didn't feel remorseful in the least.

A knock on the door drew his attention. Letting go of his train on thoughts, he let his feet touch down on the floor and he moved toward his door. Opening it, he was greeted by a bespectacled green haired woman with matching eyes. She was about a head shorter than him, and wore a yellow dress.

"Ah, hello Orimura. I'm Maya Yamada, one of the teachers here at the academy. I've been assigned to be your instructor and personal care taker here." She said.

If Ichika was still capable of speaking, he would have been more than happy to thank her. However, he settled for a bow of his head, and gestured for her to explain more.

"During your stay here in the academy, you'll be properly accommodated, and you will learn about the IS is operated. I understand from Ms. Orimura that you can't pilot one. However, it was decided that you should stay here to study in a safe environment. I hope it isn't too much trouble for you." The green haired woman chuckled.

Ichika shook his head negatively. If anything, this was minor compared to his time being turned into a warframe.

"That's great to know. You won't have to attend class until tommorrow since we're nearly done for the day. If you wish to go around the campus, the training simulation rooms are always open, and if you need to eat, the cafeteria is open as well. Please don't hesitate to ask me, or any other administrative personnel for assistance." She smiled.

Ichika nodded affirmatively, once more showing her that he appreciated her efforts.

"Well I must be off then, I still have a class to teach. I hope you settle in well Orimura, and I'll see you in class tommorrow." With that, Maya left down the hall, Ichika watching her for the next few moments. When she was completely out of view, Ichika made sure to leave his door unlocked. Those simulation rooms actually sounded like a good idea. It had been at least a few weeks since he last engaged in combat. It would be wise to make sure his skills stayed sharp. He was, afterall, learning about the world's most well known weapon.

The room turned out to be larger than he expected, he had no qualms about it though. He walked toward a console that was mounted on the wall beside the door. It had a holograhpic menu and keypad, something he was already familiar with. There were several icons that were organized by difficulty levels. Ichika concluded that these were used to test the IS pilots based on how much they already knew, and would learn during their time here.

Ichika chose the highest difficulty. He only waited two seconds before the whole room changed into a different environment. There were holograhpic columns jutting out from the ground, and the sky all around him look like a blank canvas. A rather simple, duly noted.

A timer appeared overhead, locked at five minutes. The goal was to defeat twenty-five enemies within the allotted time. That was much too easy, but Ichika had yet to really engage in combat with an IS, mainly dealing with criminal gangs and occasionally ex military personnel. This experience would give him just a little bit of insight on how to deal with them, should he encounter them in the future.

And so he set to complete the task.

The holographic bodies of his would-be enemies emerged from nothing. Ichika moved with speed unmatched by any normal human. From out of the air, his weapon was summoned to his hand. Elegant and sharp, resembling the japanese katana. Targets had already been selected the moment they had spawned. Now was the time to execute.

Five approached. They were immediately taken out with just two swings of the sword, shattering out of existence. A blur in their vision, the young one swerved around their fake bullets with ease, running his blade over their bodies when within effective range. Only ten seconds had passed. Ichika could feel himself attempting a grimace.

With slight disappointment, Ichika decided to finish off the rest of his holographic enemies. Running up the face of the nearest pillar, Ichika remained absolutely calm as bullets flew by, just missing his body by inches. Reaching the top, he propelled himself back by the ball of his alloy foot, twisting his body as he did so.

Summoned from in between his hands was a blade unlike any other. Made of pure plasma energy. The scientists called it the 'Exalted Blade'. Falling back, Ichika plummeted to the floor and brought the tip of his blade down. The impact sent out a powerful blast in the manifestation of sharp points. Each and every hologram in proximity had been eliminated.

Looking up, Ichika could see that only seventeen seconds had passed. It seemed with how little combat he had seen in his life, he had lost just a hint of the touch from his more than harsh training. That mattered little at the moment though, as he was quite disappointed to know that their were people here considered elite, and they struggled with such a simple task as this. Perhaps it was just a bit egotistical to think so, but Ichika had to wonder how exactly these young ladies were being trained.

He and the other children were put through a completely brutal regimen, but not so much where they were going to die. Ballas needed them all alive to make his warframes after all.

Quite disappointed, Ichika left the simulation room to turn in. The sun was starting to relax on the horizon, and if he recalled how his sister was, she would be strict as always. It was best to not make a bad impression on her after being disciplined through the years of his young life.

Upon arriving at his room, Ichika did not lay on his bed like most others would normally do. Rather, he dropped into his kneeling position on the floor. One thought crossed his mind before allowed himself to slumber. When the sun arose the next morning, the start of his new life would begin. It would be impossible to predict everything he was going to experience, and not knowing made himself feel slightly fearful. However, he was the one who was in control now.

And it was not his intention to let the past control him. Not anymore.

* * *

Well, that's all. The idea sort of shorts out here. So what do you guys think? And yes, before anyone decides they want to get on my case about the lore, I know exactly how it's turning out. I'm completely aware of how the plot is, I wrote it that way after all. The reason for that is becuase I really just want to experiment with the concpet if you will.

Yes, I've seen at least one or two stories that cross Warframe with IS, but those are kind of just like the typcial 'The tenno gets sent into another universe through a portal, or the tenno visits a new planet.' So yes, I had the idea of "what if we look into the warframes still being living sentient beings?" Now, in order for this plot to really work, I'm obviously going to be bending the lore a little bit so that the smaller details will actually fit into place, make sense? Glad I made that clear.

And yes, if you couldn't tell, Ichika is Exaclibur. I thought it would fit since in the original IS plot he uses Chifuyu's old sword and style from when she was the Mondo Grosso champion. Only now, Ichika has his own style to surprise her with.

I would elaborate on more, but I don't want to create an entire section of a chapter dedicated to notes and explanations. I like to keep those brief.

Alright, now with al that said, I hope this was enjoyable. If you have any sort of questions, concerns, or if you want to make comments on romantic pairs, or even suggest an idea, do not hesitate to speak up. You can simply leave a review for me to read later, or PM me. Have a good afternoon everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I'm happy to welcome everyone to chapter two!

Now, there were some good questions brought up to me about some of the plot, as well as Ichika himself and the other warframes.

First off, let me make a small apology about Ichika's description. I was somewhat vague about his complete appearance because when you happen to make the reader want to think or imagine about the character, it kind of pulls you into story a little more. Now as for the concerns of the warframes, I'll provide some explanations.

I recently just got a question about how some of the people in the story regarded Ichika when they first laid eyes on him.

**NakaruSoul:** My friend, this is my answer to you. With how I have the plot starting off, the general populace isn't completely aware that the warframes are actually weapons of war just yet. For all intents and purposes, the warframes may as well be some kind of experimental IS units until what they really are is actually revealed.

**Zeio: **My first reviewer for this story. I'll work hard to alleviate the slight worry about the abilities of the warframes, as well as the concept of the void. I have a few ideas in mind that just may work with the flow, so I hope you'll stay tuned.

And the one I find the most amusing. Which Excalibur is Ichika? I'll say for sure, he's definitely not Umbra, because I described him as white.

I guess you guys will find find out in this chapter.

* * *

Ichika opened his eyes for...he lost count of how many times he'd lost consciousness. When the man that had taken him brought him here, he had gotten to see that there were a great number of children taken from all around the world, himself included. Apparently, they were all "gifted". The young boy rolled his eyes, as he and the children quickly found out what that entailed.

They had been taken to some kind of medical facility, hidden from the eyes of the public, where their fate had been revealed to them. The man, Garrett Ballas was his name, had ordered his finest doctors and researchers to pollute them with an experimental virus. They called it the Helminth.

"Good morning young Ichika." The boy heard a very familiar voice to his left. Inclining his head, Ichika saw Ballas himself sitting on a metal chair, his fingers interlaced casually on his knees. There was a smile on his face that made the young boy frown, he knew it was fake.

"Rraa-Kraaa!" Ichika tried speaking, but quickly became alarmed by croaks that came out instead of his voice.

Ballas bowed his head apologetically, or so he made it seem that way.

"I'm afraid the Helinth has taken your voice, but worry not, for this is a common effect. " He gestured with his hand to another metal table that was on Ichika's right. There was another child, or least what was left of one. This child was a young boy much like himself, but Ichika could see some kind of metal, skin-like substance taking up at least half of his body.

"Ack-Arrrr." Ichika croaked out, and somehow, Ballas actually understood what he was trying to say.

"What is happening you ask? Why, the beginning of your transformation." He explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Suddenly, Ichika coughed violently, his body jerking forward as he felt his blood move. No, there was the saying of feeling your blood flow through your veins, but you could never really feel that. Ichika's blood actually moved, as if it were a solid substance with a mind of it's own.

"Ackrrrrrrr." The young boy groaned.

"Worry not young Ichika. The process is nearly complete." Ballas smiled once more. "Why not pass the time with a game of Go?" He suggested.

Ichika grunted, making Ballas chuckle.

"Oh, and you don't need to worry. This particular game has been specially modified for you." He said.

Ichika looked at the board, and one of the white stones slowly floated to the board, and landed square where he had been thinking.

"Wonderful, is it not? You think your move and the board senses." Ballas chuckled as his own black piece landed next to Ichika's.

"Ackaaa!" The boy on Ichika's right hacked as the Helminth maimed him from the inside.

Ballas simply chuckled at the scene. "It is nearly finished."

...

Ichika was concious once again, this time he was actually awake in the room he was given. Ichika clenched his hands into fists before letting them fall on his thighs. He hated remembering his time with Ballas. Even though he killed the man himself, Ichika still hadn't been satisfied. But at least he couldn't harm anyone else.

A knock made him look up. The door opened to show Maya poking her head through the door.

"Good morning Orimura. Are you ready for your first day?" She asked with a smile.

Ichika would have returned the gesture if he could. Maya sounded so much like a mother at this moment, sending her child to day care for the first time. Ichika nodded, and stood up from his kneeling position on the floor.

"Great! I'll guide you to my class when you're ready."

Ichika made no move to grab anything, following his green haired teacher out the door into the hallway.

"The girls aren't aware that you've been enrolled. Ms. Orimura decided it would be best if you avoided attention until it was time for you to attend class. She wanted you to be able to settle in peace." Maya explained.

Ichika couldn't have been more grateful for that as well.

The walk to the class was quiet for the most part, as all of the girls were in their respective classes. Ichika instinctively looked both ways whenever they came to an intersection of hallways. Maya noticed, but chose not to say anything about it. Whatever happened to him must have kept him on his toes.

They came up to the metal door that was her classroom. Maya instructed him to wait outside as she let Chifuyu know he was there. Her voice was only slightly muffled, but Ichika could still hear what his older sister was saying.

"We have a new student joining us today. I want you all on your best behavior. They're in a very special condition, so I want none of you pressuring them. Is that clear?"

Maya opened the door to allow him to come in.

"Come inside." Chifuyu's voice was stern, like he remembered so well.

Stepping through the threshold, Ichika's brilliant white body became visible to the entirety of the classroom. Many of the girls gasped in shock and awe at the sight of him. Even Chifuyu blinked, now noticing the features on him that she overlooked. Right in the middle of where his face should be, was a C shaped ring of pure gold. There were shiny bits all around certain parts of his body, even a bit on his horn.

"Ladies, this is Ichika Orimura. He will be joining this class as of today. Due to special conditions, he is equipped with a new experimental IS unit, as you can see." Chifuyu knew very well this wasn't an IS, but she wouldn't get her answers until later today. She had already made arrangements to talk with Tabane about this. If anyone would have the answers, it would be her.

Many of the girls all looked at Ichika with wonder, their minds still coming to terms with how an IS could be used by a male.

There was one girl in particular that seemed to catch Ichika's attention. She had long, dark purple colored hair tied into a ponytail with a green ribbon. She was sitting at a desk by the windows. Upon noticing that the white being was looking at her, the girl turned her attention outside.

"Orimura." Chifuyu's voice broke him from his staring.

"Your seat will be in the second row to the right, right beside Shinonono." She said.

Ichika nodded and made his way to the designated area. Looking down at the desk and chair, he actually wondered if his body weight could be held. The basic frame of the chair was stainless steel, with the seat being wood. Despite this little pessimistic thought, he sat down, not wanting to keep his sister waiting for too long.

It held his weight surprisingly.

The class went smoothly as Chifuyu gave a lecture about the fundamentals of how the IS was operated by the pilot. For Ichika, the class wasn't particularly interesting, but it was always a good idea to keep information in mind. After all, there were terrorist organizations that used the IS.

Ichika internally grimaced.

Despite how the warframes were created, Ballas did in fact understand that the world was left without a balance of power because of the invention of the IS. And that was precisely why the warframes were created, to combat a weapon that is seemingly unbeatable. That, and Ballas wanted to spite Tabane for making him lose his place as one of the world's top researchers.

Ichika wondered just how many different organizations had actually formed, and how many IS units they already had their hands on. Yes, Ichika had indeed been expecting to see a lot of combat. Call it the lingering anger in his mind, or even paranoia. But it had been peaceful so far, but that would change real soon. IS Academy was the only location where pilots were trained, which in turn painted a large target on it's back.

Ichika would be more than ready for when that time arrived.

"That will be all for this morning's lecture. You're all free for lunch until afternoon classes start." Chifuyu's voice rang out as Ichika came back from his thoughts.

"Orimura. If you need it, I'm sure one of your classmates will gladly assist you during this period, whether it be for food or the material." Chifuyu said, getting a nod from Ichika.

Once Chifuyu exited the room, she took her cellphone out and dialed a nameless number. It only took one ring and the reciever picked up.

"Hi Chi-chan! I'm so happy you decided to call me. What's the occassion?" The hyperactive voice on the other end of the line was none other than Tabane Shinonono herself.

"Now isn't a time for pleasantries Tabane. I want to know what you have on Ichika." Chifuyu said.

She was surprised to hear the line go quiet, but Tabane had not hung up.

"I'll just...send you the deatils." Tabane hesitated, which was quite out of character for her.

"Tabane?" Chifuyu wondered what could have made even the crazy genius herself hesitate to give away such information. She had only asked to know what information she had about him. Dread, much like when she was at the hospital, began to crawl into her stomach.

"Chi...This information is bad. Even I wouldn't do something like this." Tabane spoke again, and she sounded...sad?

"You can sort through it all yourself Chi. I don't want to go over it again." With that, Tabane the genius hung up the line.

Chifuyu stared at her cellphone for a moment, wondering just what the hell happened to her brother, that even Tabane sounded broken down.

* * *

Run. That was what her instincts were telling her to do. Run. Being in the slave trafficking business, she knew that one day she and her little crew would get caught. Caught was the key word here. What she wasn't expecting, was some...thing to slice through her colleagues with a giant sword. She had only laid eyes on it for a moment, but just a glance struck fear into her.

She heard the screams as her companions were cut into pieces. It was fuel for nightmares. Opening a seceret passage, she hurriedly ran inside, hearing the footsteps getting closer. She pulled a pistol off her thigh into her hand and checked the magazine. A full clip.

It was here, she realized how silent the atmosphere had become. She was certain that everyone was dead, and waited for that thing to come for her. Strangely enough it didn't. Perhaps she had managed to escape it. Putting her firearm away, she turned around to continue down the path, only to meet the featureless helm of her would-be killer.

They were the picture perfect example of the word fear. Their body was mostly a stark white, complimented by black, even bits of gold on some places. Two things about her pursuer that really stood out were two small horn like appendages on the sides of the face that curved upwards. And two black, leathery looking wings on their back gave them a cloak of darkness that followed their movements.

Falling on her rear, the woman cowered as the being slowly moved towards her.

"WH-Who... No. W-What are you?" The woman only managed to whisper so that only they could hear.

The answer she recieved was being grabbed by the collar of her shirt so she stood up right, and before her apparent confusion could be voiced, the being thrusted it's palm forward, knocking her backwards.

And out of her body.

The woman's soul was left lone to vanish into nothing. The fear inducing being looked down at the corpse. While left with no host, the body would still prove quite useful. Said body disaapeared as it was consumed by ink black shadows, and the being moved forward, making to leave the place that dared to imprison innocent children.

In his mind, he had only two goals in his life. To protect the world from evil, and to see his brothers and sisters again. He couldn't remember his old name, but he did remember what the researchers called him right before he killed them. He was the harbinger of death, holding all of the power of the word fear.

His name...was Nekros.

* * *

Ichika watched as the class of girls all ran around the track outside. Chifuyu, as he expected, really put emphasis on physical training. She had always been that way ever since he was little boy. Unsurprisingly, Ichika was already done with the 10 laps that the class needed to run. Becoming the living weapon he is now, his body had become durable beyond imagination, and his internal organs were nearly indestructible, or at least that's what Ballas was more than happy to report to him after he had transformed. And thus, simple exercises such as this were of no concern to him.

"Orimura!" Ichika turned his horned head towards his elder sister.

"You may be done, but I still want you active. Train while everyone else finishes up." Chifuyu ordered.

Ichika nodded obediently. Chifuyu couldn't help but watch in silent awe as Ichika reached for his hip, and seemingly out of nowhere, a weapon materialized. Just by looking at it, she could tell it was a sword. The sheath was brilliant white, with the hilt of the sword matching it. A velvet red ribbon dangled just from a gold ring on the end of the hilt.

Drawing the weapon out, Ichika allowed Nikana Prime's blade to shine in the sunlight. Ichika never once got tired of gazing upon the epitomy of perfection, just hanging in his grip. Chifuyu couldn't help but marvel at the weapon as well. It was modeled just like a Japanese katana, but the design was obviously inspired by someone foreign.

At this point the girls all had their eyes on him as well, wondering why he had a weaponw tih him. It wasn't until Ichika began to dance with his blade, that everyone had been truly mesmerized. Not a movement was wasted. Every thrusted was quick and precise. A slice was quickly followed up stab. A spin quickly replaced a crouch and sprung back into action.

Ichika practiced this dance of death many times, and the ones who happened to cross him never walked away from his technique. Death, despite carrying fear on it's wings, could be a thing of beauty sometimes.

Chifuyu, despite being taken by awe of the show of practiced skill, had begun to show a small sign of worry for the second time today. Where did Ichika obtain the weapon he was obviously accustomed to? How did he reach such a level of skill? Who taught him the way of the sword? Has he taken a life with it? Was he forced to?

The questiones swarmed about in her mind. The information that Tabane spoke of, she needed to see it, and she would do so when classes were dismissed for today. She needed to find out what happened him.

Ichika suddenly looked up. Causing Chifuyu to follow his gaze. The alarms started blaring, warning everyone to get to shelter quickly. The girls quickly followed the instructions and rushed inside the blast doors. Chifuyu tried to reach her little brother, only for him to move with speed she didn't expect. He had a strong metal wrapped around her waist and lunged forward to one of the many blast doors.

"Ichika, don't-" Her brother obviously didn't seem to care what she was going to protest. He let go of her as he crossed the threshold, only to pivot on his heel and rush back outside. His sensors picked up a large anamoly moving at a fast pace towards the academy. His sister's safety had immediately taken priority one.

Looking up towards the sky once more, he could see it, a large black silhouette coming down towards his position. Nikana Prime flashed into his hand and the blade let out a shriek as it was pulled from it's sheath.

Ichika was ready.

This was what he had been created for.

...

Up in the terminal area, Chifuyu was watching the monitors with dread as Ichika stood with his sword in hand.

"Maya, what is it?" SHe asked, her voice steady.

"It's an unmanned IS, and it's heading right for Orimura!" Maya replied with panic.

Chifuyu clenched the back of the chair Maya sat in. She had failed to protect him in the past, and here she was failing again. She obviously didn't know that Ichika was more than capable of taking care of himself, but what kind of sister would she be if she just left him alone?

"Maya, I'm going down there." She said, causing the green haired woman to look at her with wide eyes.

"But Ms. Ori-"

"But nothing Maya! I'm going." Chifuyu made her statement final and turned to head to her office, where her IS was waiting.

Down below in the arena, Ichika stood fearless as the large mass impacted in front of him, sending sand and smoke everywhere. Ichika had to inwardly smirk at the fact that getting annoying stuff like that in his eyes was pretty much impossible now.

The smoke cleared to show a large black machine. It was bulbous in shape, and had limbs that matched it's body structure. Ichika could already identify several weak points, mainly the joints. However, it had been drilled into his mind that he should never underestimate an opponent at first glance. It had saved his life many times.

The machine already initiated it's first move by deploying a massive cannon from it's left arm. The buildup of red energy was all of the incentive needed. With speed greater than that of a cheetah, Ichika began moving left. Due to the shape of the body, the left arm couldn't follow him very far before firing.

The result was blast of energy that left a large scorching spot where he had been previously standing. It seemed the machine needed to charge up it's shots before releasing the blast. Ichika took advantage of that short time and leapt onto a bulky arm, running up to where the shoulder joint should be located. Nikana Prime glowered menacingly in the light as he clsoed the distance. Just in between the bulky pieces of armor were mechanical joints connected by bars and wires surrounded by outer casing. A simple defense for such an obvious weakness.

Ichika wasted no time in poising his blade to strike before it sliced cleanly through the weaker metal. The left arm of the machine fell to the ground, shaking it upon impact.

"Ichika!"

Ichika snapped his head in the direction he heard the voice. Why was she here? Why did she come back?

This short distraction was all the unmanned IS needed to shake the warframe from it's body, sending him to the ground at its feet. Ichika jumped back up, disregarding the fall. His body was more than durable enough to where it didn't injure him in the slightest. He ran back toward his sister, seeing her encased in her IS, Kurazakura. He wasn't going to bother trying to have her explain. He had already let himself get thrown off when he allowed his concern for her to distract him.

He only gave his older sister a nod, telling her he obvious couldn't make her leave. It was time to show her that he wasn't a defenseless little boy anymore. His very own body was a weapon. A weapon trained to combat the very thing standing before him, and they would all know the power he held within his grasp.

* * *

And cut! Yes, I know. I'm so evil to cut it in the middle of a fight.

Hey, you guys made it through chapter two. Thanks for reading. So, this offically means that Iron Skin is now my new project.

Now I'll go ahead and get right into the nitty gritty.

**Point one:** Ichika is Excalibur Prime, as you have read above. Keep in mind that while the Primes are typically better than their vanilla counterparts, you won't be seeing a lot of them in this story. The world is still pretty much the same, only with matriarchs in control now. That, and the warframes are already walking WMDs to begin with, Prime or not.

**Point two:** I know someone is most likely to ask in the near future, so I'll say it here. The sentients will not exist. Please remember that in the original lore, the warframes were created to combat the sentients. The case is different here in Infinite Stratos. They were made to combat the IS, the most powerful the weapon now known to the world, but that will change later in the story.

**Point three:** I said it up above and I'll say it again. I have ideas to work with regarding how the warframes got their abilities, due to the void giving them these powers. I even have an idea that might help fit transference in as well. I don't mind an inquiry from time to time, but please don't nag me about it.

**Point four:** I know for fact I can't please everyone, so I won't expect everyone to understand or agree with how I make this plot. But that won't stop me from making it as enjoyable as possible.

I think that's all for the notes now. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to seeing you in chapter three.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello and welcome. Today, you learn what happens in this third installment. Heh, sorry, couldn't help myself, I've always had a liking for SAW.

Yes, what you see before you does not lie. You are here to enjoy chapter three of Iron Skin.

Now, before we begin, I have some feedback that I need to address.

**A Fan**: Very good question. I had considered something like the factions coming up. I'm just not sure how I would incorporate them just yet. But I could see a few factions like Red Veil and Steel Meridian being made up. The tenno, are sometimes referred to as warrior-gods by some, and that might fit with a few good ideas.

**Angron**: I'm glad to see your still reading. I hope your pleased as this story goes on. So I'll tell you that with your question, Tabane will be a factor that plays into that. I think that should suffice for now, yes? As for the plot? I shall aim to not disappoint you.

**AzureDominon**: For your first point, since Ichika is essentially a living weapon, his place among the student populace is special to say the least. Everyone is aware that he is indeed still a living being. However, the way he learns with the classes will be seen enough times. I won't give away too much, but Ichika will play more of an 'experienced warrior' model for most of the student populace without them knowing he has more combat experience than they think he does. For point number two, I'll just repeat what I told Angron Tabane will be important for that. For your final question, your full of good questions, while the warframes are more than capable of taking down enemies without having to fly, they do need their wings when the situation calls for it.

**blueknight211:** He wasn't really using any stance in particular. I wasn't intending for him to show a specific stance or style until later when he faced future threats or fought with more experienced IS pilots.

* * *

Without missing a beat, Ichika leapt onto the remaining arm of the IS. It's machine gun spitting bullets as Ichika waved around them with ease. Chifuyu reached for two rectangular sheaths at her hips and took at two swords, both looking like European longswords. Ichika wouldn't be alone this time.

Ichika slid on his heel and spun, Nikana Prime shrieking with joy at slicing through the weak joint keeping the weapon attached. The large weapon fell to the ground in a heap. Ichika could see Chifuyu moving at a speed that could match his, throwing the swords with pro accuracy. They were being embedded into the large body of the IS, he could see blinking lights on the ends of the hilts. Ichika inwardly smiled at the tact.

"Ichika!" Chifuyu yelled.

The warframe nodded his head and leapt down, his feet leaving cracked imprints in the ground. Chifuyu smiled as her brothr turned to look at the IS.

"Smithereen time." Chifuyu all but growled out.

Ichika watched as all of the explosive swords detonated all around the ISs body. He didn't release his grip on his weapon as clouds of red and yellow flashed across his vision. Both he and Chifuyu watched impassively as the IS didn't move throughout the series of explosions.

After the last explosion, it was tensely quiet. Black clouds swirled around, keeping the IS hidden from their view. Chifuyu almost began to believe the job had been done when they both felt the ground shake. Ichika quickly threw an arm around Chifuyu and jumped back.

A large metal foot slammed onto the ground, immediately creating a gust that cleared the field. The IS still stood there. Ichika hypothesized that the armor was stronger than it appeared. It appeared that he had no choice then.

Ichika looked at Chifuyu let her go. He released Nikana Prime, and it disappeared into nothing. Breaking into a sprint, Ichika made for the wall opposite of Chifuyu.

"Ichika, watch out!" Chifuyu cried as the chest of the IS opened, showing a rack of missles ready to follow him.

With a chorus of screams, the missles tracked the warframe. Ichika was more than aware that he could outrun them. It was here Chifuyu was now realizing, her little brother...wasn't so little anymore. She watched in silent awe as Ichika's metal feet carried him up the wall and he didn't look back. Ichika nearly reached the terminal area before he performed an almost perfect imitation of the maneuver he performed the day prior.

Ichika clapped his hands together as he thrusted himself into the air. As he separated them, a long blade began to reveal itself. It was about the length of an Odachi, with a slight jagged bend in the middle. It was shrouded with blue energy that moved in elegant waves. Chifuyu could feel her hair attempt to stand as she felt the energy.

Ichika expertly twisted his body and let himself fall as he reared his arm back. A long whine reached the air as Ichika vertically sweeped his blade across the surface of the IS. However, he wasn't finsihed yet. Spinning on his heel, he faced the IS again, and began to swing his sword with speed that Chifuyu was proud of, but was shocked to see waves of energy leaving the blade as the white warframe swung his weapon.

Ichika jumped up and twirled, creating a long slash. The IS stood motionless as Ichika continued his onlslaught. With one final attack, Ichika held his sword high and let a last verticle slash fly into the machine.

He raised the blade to his empty hand and clapped both hands together. The powerful blade was gone as if it never even existed. The IS stood ever still as Ichika turned to walk toward his sister. It was only when he reached her, that the machine fell apart into bits after suffering so many strikes from Ichika's blade. If the idea of metal sushi had ever been a thing, Ichika would have laughed at the art.

Chifuyu was in awe, but tried not to let it show on her face. Her little brother was strong. No, strong was an understatement. He was powerful. He had just turned an unmanned IS into the metal equivelant of mincemeat.

Inside, the students were in awe as well, but none more than a certain Houki Shinonono.

Chifufyu reached for her brother's face as he stopped in front of her. While she should feel proud of his skill, she felt horrible. Ichika was essentially a trained killer, just like she used to be. And she wasn't ready for her IS immediately started to process data upon contact with his pristine skin.

Black began to eat at the corners of her vision as Ichika's body language indicated his panic at her collapse.

* * *

Chifuyu woke up, her surroundings completely unfamiliar. Something didn't feel right one bit. Her head seemed to be moving against her will. Footsteps caught her ears and her gaze fell on a man. She knew who he was. He used to be a researcher very well known to the world before Tabane invnted the IS.

"Hello again young Ichika."

Chifuyu felt her entire circulatory system go cold. Was this what happened to him while he was missing? She would surely find out.

"Quite a day. Your transformation is coming along very nicely. I reckon at least one more day before it is complete, and you are ready." Ballas seemed to be quite ecstatic.

Chifuyu felt dread creep up her spine at the word 'transformation'. This was clearly how Ichika became...whatever he was now.

Ichika's breath was heavy and ragged. He almost sounded like he was laying inside an Iron Lung.

"Oh, and look here. You have someone who's been wanting to see you for quite some time now." Ballas gained a smirk on his face.

Ichika looked behind the man to find a woman dressed up in a formal black skirt and a lab coat coming up behind him. A modest white blouse lie underneath her coat, keeping her top covered.

This woman was Harumi Kiyama. One of the head researchers of the Warframe Project, and the only person here to ever show these children kindness in this dark time.

"Can he hear me? Ichika, do you remember me? It's me, Harumi Kiyama." The woman smiled.

Ichika would have returned the gesture if half of his face wasn't turned to metal already. But regardless, he gave the woman a stiff nod, showing that he acknowledged her.

Ballas seemed to scoff. "Of course he remembers you Ms. Kiyama. How could he not?"

Ballas then glanced at Ichika. 'After all, she will provide the best results for the final portion of this project.' Ichika looked alarmed for a moment. He looked at Ballas confused. The much older man clearly looked amused.

'Oh? This? I've you fitted with a _special_ implant.'

Ichika looked confused even more so.

And so did Chifuyu.

'In time, you'll see just how this miracle works.' Ballas told Ichika, before he spoke to Harumi.

"Would you like some refreshments Ms. Kiyama?" He asked with a smile. Ichika had grown to hate that smile, and couldn't wait to one day wipe it off his old face.

"Yes please doctor, thank you." When Ballas was gone, Harumi sighed, gently rubbing her fingers against what remained of ichika's face.

"I hope one day you can forgive me. All of you." Harumi looked genuinely apologetic.

Chifuyu wasn't sure why, but she felt a sudden pang in her chest, and she didn't like it.

Ichika lifted a shaky, metal hand towards the woman, and gently placed it on her thigh, the only place he could reach. He tried his best to give her a sincere expression, one that was meant to show he had no ill will towards her.

"Just hang on a little longer." She smiled. "And when it's time, I'll be the one who's going to be taking care of you."

Ichika just had to pat her thigh in response.

"Look forward to it. I certainly will."

Before Ichika knew it, his body violently spasmed once again as more of the infection started to slowly cover more of his body, soft skin twisting into hard metal. His breath grew increasingly ragged. It sounded as if he could barely even perform the simple task of respiration at this moment. All the while, Harumi Kiyama could only try and maintain eye contact with him in order make sure he pushed through the pain. She felt horrible as she watched the boy, clearly in agony, writhe in his bindings.

Chifuyu felt just as horrified as the female researcher. She felt like crying as she helplessly saw how much pain her little brother was suffering through.

"Ah, the Helminth sure is doing it's magic. Once they are all ready, we can begin the next phase." Ballas came in with a tray, empty cups and a steaming pot on top.

"So soon doctor?" Harumi asked.

"But of course Ms. Kiyama. The sooner, the better. I don't just want my creations to match the IS. I want them to be better. And so, we must turn to the void of space, and accomplish what Tabane Shinonono did not." He said. He sat down across from the woman and poured himself some tea, with Harumi following his example.

"However you need not worry Ms. Kiyama. I will still keep my promise to you, and allow you to be the one to educate these marvelous miracles." He said with a smile, but Ichika was able to catch the slight bit of a sinister undertone in his voice.

He narrowed his eye at Ballas who seemed to ignore the gesture.

Ichika would get his hands on this man, one way or another.

* * *

Chifuyu gasped as she sat up from a medical berth. Beside her, her assistant Maya felt relief flood through herself. The green haired woman had called for the medics to extract the Mondo Grosso champion from the arena after she had suddenly collapsed. Ichika had taken to his room once more, until he was informed of her condition.

The raven haired woamn looked around the room swiftly, before she allowed herself to relax slightly. Leaning against the wall, she pondereed for a moment. Just what did she see? How did she see it? She furrowed her brows, as she came to a conclusion. Looking at her green haired assistant, she gave her the order she wanted fulfilled.

"Maya, go to my office, and bring me my laptop. I need to look at some important files." She said.

Maya nodded and left immediately.

Chifuyu sat in silence as the younger woman left. She couldn't get the thought of her brother suffering out of her head. She may not have seen what was actually happening to him, but she had experienced the very same pain he felt, and it was horrible. It was time that she found out what happened, otherwise she'd tear herself apart trying to figure it out.

About 10 minutes later, Maya came back with the requested piece of equipment. Placing the computer on her lap, Chifuyu opened it and saw she had an anonymous email. She knew for a fact it was Tabane, and opened the tab. There were multiple links in one message. Chifuyu, with baited breath, clicked on the first link, and what looked like a humanoid shape was revealed to her. This almost seemed like a blueprint of sorts.

Chifuyu narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard a familiar voice from the small speakers of her laptop.

"It is with the greatest risk and pleasure that I commit this recording. Inside, you'll find the codices to the greatest adversary you have yet to meet, Doctor Shinonono. My creations, my frames of war."

Chifuyu felt her hands slowly curl into fists.

She clicked on the next link, despite the seed of anger growing within herself.

"We created the Helminth, lovingly cultured to yield these new warriors, worthy of battle against you, the ever elusive Tabane Shinono, and your infinite stratos."

Chifuyu huffed. It seemed like Ballas was holding onto nothing more than a petty grudge against Tabane. She supposed Tabane did make quite a bit of enemies, but the crazy scientist usually 'got rid' of them fairly quick. She clicked on the next link, showing another humanoid shape.

"We took only the world's most promising, volunteers or not, and polluted them with this cultured reagent. They transformed, they became infested with disease."

Chifuyu paused as she had a flashback of Ichika lying on that table, and Ballas smirking down at him. Her heart stopped for the briefest of moments. Swallowing the growing lump in her throat, Chifuyu let the file play.

"But only just. Their skin blossomed into sword steel. Their internal organs had become interlinked untold resilience, and yet somehow their minds were free of the madness that their predecessors could not handle."

It was slowly becoming harder to breath. Chifuyu had just learned of exactly how her brother had become this...frame that he was now. It was only making her feel more than horrified that she had let this happen.

"We set them onto the field to be bio-drones under our command, but perhaps you'll be surprised. The warframes, each and every one a failure. They turned on us, and so we had no choice but to commit them to grave."

Chifuyu was clenching her fists so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Her brother, after suffering so much, had completely lost his innocence and took a life, perhaps even more than one.

"These creations of mine, living, techno-organic miracles, also have a secret. Their abilities, far beyond what the human mind could hope to fathom. Attained from a place none will be able to reach. I speak of the void."

Chifuyu couldn't understand what drove this man to go so far. Why go to such lengths, just to spite someone?

"Space truly is a frightening place. The void tainted my creations, it bestowed them their power, and so this power was used against us."

Once more, it was like a mocking reminder of just how much Ichika suffered under Ballas' hands. Chifuyu shook her head, trying to shake off the pent up feelings in her chest. Hovering over the last link, she hesitated.

"Ms. Orimura." The brunhilde remembered that Maya was with her. The green haired woman gave her best comforting smile. That was all Chifuyu needed before she clicked on the last link.

"We had created monsters we couldn't control. We drugged them, tortured them, eviscerated them, we brutalized their minds, but nothing seemed to work, until she came."

Chifuyu paused, her heart clenching ever tighter with each word coming from Ballas' mouth. She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. Why? Why did it have to Ichika? Why was fate so cruel to allow this to happen?

"She had no force of will whatsoever. It was that somehow, despite the horrors of this project, she had learned to see inside of an ugly, broken thing. And take away it's pain."

Chifuyu silently allowed only a single tear to fall down her cheek. She looked towards the window slightly so Maya couldn't see, and yet the green haired teacher knew she had shed a tear.

"It's...okay Ms. Orimura. It's okay."

Chifuyu really hoped Maya was right, because she couldn't bring herself to say a single word.

* * *

Despite that the world is a matriarchal society, women weren't always the ones in power.

A group of three men were pulling a young woman into an alley were they could not be seen. She was a beautiful young thing, with straight brown hair, and blue eyes filled with fear. Struggle as she might, this one woman was not going to easily overpower three men. Even as she was roughly handled by the men, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread hang on her shoulders, like she was being judged by the grim reaper himself.

"Come on now miss, don't make this difficult." One of the three men spoke, his voice tainted with lust.

The young woman found her shirt being ripped off, leaving her in only a pure white bra. Tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes. Feeling around in the woman's shirt, the man currently fiddling with it found her wallet in her breast pocket, and with it, her ID, Aya Sasaki.

Suddenly, as if God, Buddha, or some divine being answered her silent prayers, there were footseps approaching. A savior had come for her. The footsteps were slow, calculating, putting the three men in a state of unease. The fact they could hear them along with her was proof whoever this was wanted to make their presence known.

Then, out of the shadows, the three men saw something only a child could create in their greatest nightmare. A white body with highlights of pale red and patches of black. A sinister cloak of wings swayed on it's back. And in one of it's clawed hands was a greatsword, it's pristine blade sharp and decorated with gold.

Aya could only look on in awe. This...thing, whatever it was, just looking at it allowed her to feel the powerful aura it gave off. It was dark, malicious, and yet to her, she saw a savior coming to free her from darkness.

Before anyone of the men could utter a single word, the deadly being blurred from their vision. Aya looked around to find her savior standing at the opposite end of the alley, it's weapon still in hand, with only a single drop of blood falling from the tip of the beautiful blade.

Looking back, Aya saw the men who would have taken her were standing very still. That is until they all fell apart in pieces. Pools of blood surrounded Aya as she watched her savior begin to walk back to the shadows.

"Wait, please!" She called out.

The being paused breifly in it's pace.

"Who are you, o-or what are you?" She inquired.

There was no verbal response, but the being did tilt it's head slightly in her direction. It was almost as if it was telepathically speaking to her, because she took it's silence as a positive answer.

And with that gesture, the harbinger sank into the shadows, leaving Aya behind with the grisly display of it's victims.

* * *

Finally done.

Chapter is only a slight bit longer than I wanted to keep it, but this works just fine. So I won't waste the time here, and I'll get back into the more finer details.

**Point One:** Chifuyu has now seen what Ichika is capable, granted it's only a fraction, but the point has been made. Ichika isn't an ignorant, defenseless little boy.

**Point Two:** You've also gotten a taste of the idea I had for transference. No, no one is actually a tenno, but I have a small loophole that I'm exploiting. You can try to guess if you'd like.

**Point three:** I actually had to mess around with Ballas' codices a little bit as you've seen. Even threw in some of my own little tidbits to make it a little more interesting.

As for the topic of the void, I'll cover that later in the story. This chapter seemed like a mini info dump to me personally, but it was also pretty vexing to try writing it out a second way. So apart from that, this chapter came out like I wanted it to.

I hope you guys found it satisfactory, and I'll be seeing you in the next update.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, I'm back with the 4th installment of Iron Skin. As always, I hope you guys enjoy the content.

But before that, I really want to call out this specific reader.

**A Fan**: My friend, I really must thank you for the idea. I'm really considering taking some of those aspects and implementing them in, not all of them of course, but definitely some, because I see some good opportunities that I just can't pass up. So thank you for your input, it really did make a good impact.

Now without anymore delays, read forth.

* * *

Two days had passed since the attack of the unmanned IS unit. There wasn't a soul in the IS academy that didn't know of Ichika's actions against the machine that was once considered lethal. Whenever the warframe walked through the halls, he was given a wide berth. Not surprising since none of the girls here had any sort of experience with combat.

Well, there was one who was an exception. No, it wasn't Chifuyu. It was one Houki Shinonono. She never saw real combat, but she was experienced with martial arts, Kendo specifically.

She was shocked beyond belief to see her once childhood friend seemingly effortlessly turn an IS into a pile of scrap.

Not to say the whole school wasn't in the same boat, but she really wasn't expecting it from him, whether he was...different or not.

Currently, Chifuyu was lecturing the class as usual, going into the specifics of the components of the IS, and how they all made the machine operate. The Brunhilde made sure to always keep an eye on her brother whenever she could since she learned of just how he became what he was. A living weapon.

The older Orimura paused a bit in her lecturing to take a sip of water from a bottle she kept with her most of the day. During this brief pause she saw Ichika in the corner of her eye. As expected since his arrival here, he always paid attention to his sister, despite the fact that this information wasn't relevant to him. Once more, he just idly kept the information filed away for later reference. You never know when such information would prove useful.

"Orimura, I want to speak with you after class today. You aren't in any trouble, but this is something that I need to dicuss with you later. Alright?"

Ichika nodded to his sister's request.

By this time, Chifuyu was now used to his featureless gaze. She didn't care if his skin was metal. To her, she could still see that adorable little boy somewhere underneath the perfection of white and gold.

Stowing away her feelings for later. Chifuyu resumed the class.

Ichika himself simply kept his gaze strictly on Chifuyu. Ordinarily, no one else would notice. But he had been trained to the bone to see the subtle signs of body language. While she may have been speaking to him in that oh-so-familiar tone he was able to detect what she was really saying through her posture.

It appeared to him she obviously knew something no one else here knew, so that narrowed down a lot of possibilities that already passed through his mind. Must be something quite sensitive if she only needed to speak with him about it, he concluded.

Class was over after thirty minutes had passed. The girls were grouping together in their little cliques and some left the classroom in favor of going to the cafeteria.

Ichika waited for only a few moments as Chifuyu gathered up some things she needed to bring to her office. Two minutes tops, she had everything sorted and was walking out of the door with the warframe following her. Chifuyu's own office wasn't too far from her classroom, just being about three corridors away.

Unlocking the door with a keycard, the siblings tepped inside, Chifuyu tossing some folders on her desk as Ichika sat on the chair in front.

Chifuyu didn't sit in her chair, but rather moved closer to Ichika, and unexpectedly, gave him a warm embrace he wasn't expecting. In showed in his body language as he hesitated, before returning the gesture.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He heard her say softly.

Ah, so this was about his...time away from her. She found out about how he had changed. Her reaction was understandable, but he held no ill will toward her for it. It's not like either him or her would have expected him to have been kidnapped a second time after the Mondo Grosso incident.

Ichika brought up a hand to gently pat his older sister on the back.

Speaking of incidents, the warframe now had an idea of what Ballas was talking about all those years ago. When Chifuyu had collapsed those two days ago, he felt a sort of...intrusion in himself. And looking at the circumstances now, it was making sense. Those two days ago, Chifuyu was in her IS when she made contact with him, and she currently wasn't. Ichika now had a good idea of what Ballas' 'special implant' was meant for now.

That being in his line of thought, the warframe wanted to confirm it.

Separating himself from the embrace, Ichika pointed to the dormant IS. Chifuyu had a brief moment of confusion before looking at Kurazakura.

"You...want me to equip Kurazakura?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ichika nodded with certainty.

...

Chifuyu was silent for a few moments. She gave Ichika another glance before slowly approaching her IS. Upon coming into contact with her IS, Kurazakura disapeared and manifested itself on her forearm in the form of a black bracelet. Due to the size and purpose Kurazakura was designed for, the transfomration would cause any damage to the building. Chifuyu hated most other IS units since she thought the sizes were impractical.

In a flash of particles Chifuyu's body was surrounded, and when the light faded, the Brunhilde was covered in the familiar black armor of her IS.

On the inside, Ichika had his eyes slightly narrowed. This would confirm his little hypothesis.

He adopted the seiza position on the floor and gestured for Chifuyu to do the same. Chifuyu wasn't sure what Ichika was trying to do, but she complied. She was slightly alarmed when Kurazakura started to process information again, most likely from the last time it made contact with Ichika. When Kurazakura was finished with processing information, a message appeared on her HUD.

'Transference link established. Would you like to proceed? Y/N'

Chifuyu blinked. Transference? What did that mean? Did Ichika know?

Mentally, Chifuyu hardened herself, before choosing yes.

At first, nothing happened. Then, in a blur that she couldn't register, Chifuyu was accelreating through a bright tunnel of sorts, before she found herself on a hill. Sakura petals slowly fell from the sky, and the wind playfully tugged at her hair. Obviously, CHifuyu was no longer in the academy, far from it. Or at least, that's what she thought.

Deciding to go to the top of the hill so she could see, she began her trek. As she moved upward though, she could hear something. The sound of someone training. There was a periodical shout, or a grunt. Chifuyu's logic was to ask whoever was up here for directions.

Upon getting to the top, Chifuyu's eyes widened.

"No...It...it can't be." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

At the top of the hill was what looked like a small temple of sorts. But that isn't wht struck her with surprise. It was the person training in the small courtyard of the temple.

A raven haired young boy was practicing katas with a wooden sword. He had a smile on his face, not losing his concentration.

"Ichika..." Chifuyu barely managed to say.

Upon hearing his name, the boy stopped what he was doing and slowly placed the sword on the ground. He kneeled into seiza and bowed his head forward slightly, patiently waiting for Chifuyu to make her way over. The brunhilde moved at a slow pace, wary if this was a dream before her eyes.

Upon reaching her brother, Chifuyu once again kneeled down with him. When she did, he looked up and smiled at her. Chifuyu felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

"How long has it been, nine years I think?" He pondered.

That's right. Nine years. Nine long, agonizing years. That's how long this little boy was gone from Chifuyu's life.

"Is it really you Ichika? Is this a dream?" Chifuyu needed to know, her emotions were running amok.

Ichika raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk tugging at the edge of his lips.

"Well I don't know big sis. You tell me. After all, you're the one who entered my mind." Was his reply.

Chifuyu's eyes widened slightly. "What? Ichika, you aren't making any sense."

Ichika chuckled. "You always had sharp skill, but I guess you didn't always have the sharpest mind, hm?" The tone he used held a lot more maturity than how he looked currently. As of now, Ichika looked the exact same way he did when he was taken from her, which was eight years old.

"Alright big sis, let me explain it to you. Your IS Kurazakura tried to link with me when you touched me two days ago, remember that? Maybe you don't because you blacked out." He said.

Chifuyu paused for a moment befor recalling that was indeed what happened. Seeing his sister nod, Ichika continued.

"Well, Kurazakura tried linking with me. I wasn't sure why, but I definitely felt the intrusion. But when I thought about it more, I had a suspicion. Ballas said he gave a special sort of implant before I was fully transformed. That little implant was a transference bolt." He explained.

"What exactly is that?" Chifuyu asked in return.

The smirk grew just a fraction on Ichika's face. "How do you think you're here right now?" A question for a question.

"It's a special rod-like device, made by Ballas himself. And since my hypothesis has been confirmed, I know what the pupose is. And that is to transfer a person's conciousness into my body. You get it now? Instead of using Kurazakura, you're using me." The little boy said.

Chifuyu had no words.

Seeing his sister like this made Ichika sigh.

"Chifuyu."

Hearing her name made her look at him.

"It wasn't your fault. You might think so, but I know better. I never stopped loving you, and I never hated you for what happened."

Chifuyu clenched her jaw, tears spilling out from her eyes.

Ichika leaned forward and embraced the Brunhilde.

"It's okay. You can cry big sis. No one can judge ou here." He said softly to her.

Chifuyu clung to her little brother, her breathes ragged, and he could feel the warmth of her tears on his shoulder. The two sat together in a peace as Chifuyu let all of her pent up feelings out. Nine years of built up anger and sadness, and she finally got her moment.

After a few more minutes passed, Chifuyu had settled down. Ichika had let go of her at this point and was sitting peacefully with his head bowed and his eyes closed.

"Are you ready Chifuyu?" He asked.

"For what?" She asked.

"You may be in my mind, but we haven't finished the link. So, are you ready?" He asked again.

Chifuyu took a deep breath and held it for five seconds. When she let it go, she nodded affirmatively.

"Then let's do it." Ichika said, fixing his seating.

Chifuyu copied him, and then bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"Just focus, and let yourself feel it." Ichika said softly over the slight breeze of the wind.

And she did feel it, it was just a slight pull. It felt like harmony, like her dear brother was still holding her in his warm embrace.

* * *

Chifuyu opened her eyes, but this time, she was back in her office. The next thing she instantly noticed that Kurazakura was gone, and that she was looking at the spot that she was occupying previously. Looking down, she now saw why this was.

Because Chifuyu was now looking at the white legs of her brother.

'Surprised?' She heard Ichika's voice in the back of her mind.

'Ichika?' She asked internally.

'Were you expecting someone else?' Ichika asked.

Chifuyu felt herself internally smile, before noticing her something odd about her vision. It looked like it was fine. Was this how Ichika saw things from his perspective?

'Try moving around.' Ichika advised.

Chifuyu was able to stand, albeit slowly. It was so...strange. She supposed this could be similar to controlling an IS, but it was still very different, bizzare. Looking through another person's perspective was definitely a new experience for her. Being inside of another body could be similar to an IS, but this was an actual body, not just an array of parts covering you.

On her hip and out of the void, Ichika's sword was summoned into existence.

'Go ahead, try it.'

She firmly grasped the hilt of the blade and slowly pulled it from it's sheath. The blade gave off a slight glint in the light of her office. And now that she was the one holding it, it definitely had the same weight as a katana. Chifuyu couldn't help but admire the blade, now that she had front row view of it. Whoever crafted this weapon certainly knew what they were doing.

'Nikana Prime, my sword. What do you think?' Ichika asked.

'It's practically perfect.' Chifuyu replied.

Sheathing the blade, Chifuyu tried walking around her office for a few minutes, and found it wasn't hard. She still found this experience a little strange, but was starting to get used to it.

'I still find it crazy that I'm in your body.' Chifuyu spoke her thoughts.

'I think Ballas knew I would find out about how his little...gift would work.'

Chifuyu inwardly grimaced. She remebered full well how Ballas treated her brother, despite seeing the man in only one memory. Nothing she could do now, since the man was long dead. Ichika had seen to it personally, but she didn't know that little tidbit.

'Well, at least we know how the process works now. I'm gonna eject you.'

'Wait, what?'

Ichika's body went still as Chifuyu somehow phased out of it, stumbling as she reached out and grabbed her desk for support. With his body under his own control again, the warframe gladly helped Chifuyu straighten herself out. No longer disoriented, Chifuyu turned to her brother and gave him a light smack on his metal head.

"You could have warned me, idiot." She chided.

Ichika brought up his hands as he shrugged. She could almost sense the little grin he was no doubt trying to perform with his body language.

For the first time in a long time, Chifuyu smiled a warm smile.

"Come on, it's time for training, I know you enjoy that portion of the day." She said, leaving the room.

Ichika nodded eagerly and followed his sister into the hall.

* * *

The corpses of the three men were found just a day ago in the alley. Aya had been questioned by the female officers that took her in. They had asked her if she had been hurt in the skirmish. She replied that they never got a chance to do anything to her because she was saved. This was where the conversation had a slight dent in it.

"Was it an IS pilot that rescued you?" The officer asked.

Aya shook her head. "No, it wasn't an IS. It was...something else. It looked like a human body, but..." Aya paused not sure how she could describe her savior to the officer without sounding crazy. A lightbulb went off in her head.

"Would you happen to have some paper I could use to sketch them?" She asked.

The officer nodded her head. "Certainly."

Reaching down into a cabinet in her desk, she pulled out a clean sheet of copy paper, aand slid it over to the would-be victim.

Aya spent about five minutes sketching, making sure she got in the most important details of her savior. When she was finished, she handed the paper over to the officer. The brown haired officer looked it over and gave Aya a skeptical look.

"Are you sure about this ma'm? This looks like some sort of monster I child would make up in their head." She said.

Aya nodded.

"I know what I saw officer. I don't know if that was some kind of new IS or not, but whoever or whatever it was, saved me. They left before shortly after...stopping those men. I tried asking them who or what they were, but they didn't speak." She explained.

The officer looked over her should at her partner, who was silent during this whole exchange.

"You get all of that down?" The second officer nodded wordlessly.

The brown haired officer sighed. "Thank you for your cooperation ma'm. I'll have my partner escort you out."

"Of course officer." With that, Aya was taken out of the office as the brown haired officer looked down at the drawing on her desk. This...whatever it was, had a strange shaped head. There were small horns on the side of it's featureless face, and it had wings of sorts on it's back.

The officer shook her head. "This is going to be a long investigation." She sighed.

Unknown to her, she would be seeing this suspect very soon.

* * *

Nearly missed this month's update. So what did you guys think?

There were some things I was experimenting with in this chapter, but I think it turned out rather well. Like how the warframes can see, despite having no face to speak of. What I kind of did there, was take the scene of Umbra attacking the player. Surely that had to have made some kind of sense, so I took the inspiration from that and fiddled with it.

I've made the idea of transference work here. It was just a little tricky, but the logic seemed to fit together. I hope it was satisfying to see the idea being put into action.

And that's about all I have to say for this chapter. I'll see guys in June. Have a good day guys.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay guys.

* * *

Learning how to adapt is important to survive in the world. Doubly so with the IS, a weapon of great destruction that only women were capable of using. So that brought up the question with an ever elusive answer. Was there anything that could actually stand against these machines?

The answer is yes. There is.

The warframe of black and gold sat upon the vantages of the roofs hanging over the large facility. Phantom Task operatives were going about their schedule, sorting out supplies and maintaining gear, and some were training. Those who toiled toward the suffering of others would get their just desserts, for they would be returned to the void.

The warframe stood up, hefting a large golden hammer from it's feet. It placed the weapon on it's back and took a step forward. Summoning a ball-like object into it's hand, it pivoted it's entire body during free-fall and threw the ball down to the ground below.

The women who heard the noise that ball created looked at it before every operative in it's vicinty was taken into the air, frozen and left at it's mercy. A barely visible aura of some kind surrounded them, keeping them in place.

The warframe landed with a dull thud, before taking two decorated, matching firearms into it's hands. It lazily spun around as it placed it's accurate shots into the vulnerable bodies. The aura faded and the now lifeless bodies dropped to the ground in a harsh symphony.

"You!" A Phantom Task operative, equipped in her IS growled as she held a large rifle in the mechanical suit's hands. Her weapon was leveled right at what she assumed was a mere man.

How wrong that assumption was. But that was fine, the warframe didn't mind showing the naive just how wrong they could be.

Summoning another ball to it's hand, it waited patiently for the enraged woman to make her move.

After a moment of silence, the woman's rifle barked, as large 50. caliber bullets flew towards it. Easy. A simple practiced roll let the bullets fly by as it lazily tossed the ball behind it's back. Tossing the ball into the air, it sailed toward the woman, who used the thrusters of her unit to move away.

"Ha! You think just a grenade-"

The woman was cut off as she felt a sudden harsh pull. Turning her head back, she saw that whatever this man threw at her, it wasn't a grenade. It was some kind of whirling vortex that was slowly but surely pulling her into it's waiting grasp. Struggle as she might, her unit couldn't take a single step forward.

Eventually, the vortex seemed to collapse, and it no longer existed.

The Phantom Task operative panted as she regained her bearings. But it was too late. When the woman looked up, the last thing she saw was a large mass of gold coming down right at her head.

* * *

Chifuyu could say she was rather pleased. She could say that, but never out loud. Ichika was picking everything up like a sponge would soak up water. Classes were over for the day and the warframe was currently sitting in his room, meditating. She still had no clue how he was floating like that, but after the discovery of transference, she didn't bother trying to question it.

Transference.

Chifuyu hadn't asked Ichika to perform the act ever since the first time, which was two days ago. While she was happy that her brother was still...well, her brother. She didn't want to always have to...use him. He could take care of himself now, and he'd proven that to her when he fought the unmanned IS.

It still hurt just a little to be reminded she wasn't there for him, but she knew that Ichika turned out this way for the better, even if she didn't like it.

Tonight though, it seemed Ichika was deep in thought. He may not have a face to look at, but Chifuyu was his sister. She still had the ability to pick up certain vibes from him, and he was giving off some very entranced feelings. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was pondering about though. He'd been gone from her life for so long, so she hadn't the slightest idea of what was going through his head.

For all she knew, he could be thinking about his torture at the hands of Ballas again.

"Ms. Orimura."

The voice of one of the students stopped her train of thought. Turning her head to address them, she saw that it was Tabane's little sister, Houki. The younger girl looked a bit hesitant to approach her, she could hardly blame her really. Regardless, as a teacher, she had an obligation to answer any questions her students may have.

"Yes Shinonono, what is it?" The brunhilde asked.

"Would it be alright if I spoke with...Ichika? Is he here?" Houki had wanted to speak with Ichika since the day the unmanned IS attacked. However, the warframe always seemed to elude her in some way.

Chifuyu mentally sighed. She had a feeling this would come up, just not this soon. She knew Houki when she was younger. Her and Ichika used to be childhood friends, but she had a feeling that relationship would be strained now that he had changed. He may still be her little brother, but she had seen plenty of ways he had changed, and not just his obvious transformation.

"Yes, he is here. But you'll have to be patient with him. He's...deep in thought a the moment." She told the younger girl.

Houki nodded and stepped into the room. There, she saw the warframe floating just a few feet from the ground, his legs criss-crossed in the typical meditative position. She was struck silent for a few moments. The scene couldn't be but a little beautiful to her, with the moonlight shining through the window, making his pristine white skin shine with a brilliant coat.

"Um...Ichika?" She spoke softly.

There was at least 10 seconds of silence, he counted, before he stopped his meditation. His legs uncrossed and his metal feet touched the floor without a sound. The warframe turned towards Houki, his featureless gaze locking her in place. He waited patiently as she got her bearings back.

"I...I wanted to speak to you. I didn't really get a chance to these past couple of days." She started.

Ichika held an unblinking stare as the girl continued with her thoughts.

"You've changed, in more ways than one. I-I mean that in a good way! It's just...been so long since we, well, you know..." She trailed off, looking anywhere in the room but at him.

Ichika knew what she was saying. Simply put, Houki just wanted a chance to actually get to speak with him after being gone for nine years. He couldn't really blame her, but with the way Ichika had been trained to take care of himself, he became much more antisocial than he used to be as a child.

"Well." Houki cleared her throat. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, since that unmanned IS attacked you. I...was honestly scared, and I thought you would get hurt. But you...did it, you beat it all on your own." With the way she was making it sound, Ichika came to the conclusion that she had wanted to try and protect him, but she was simply incapable of doing so.

He understood how she felt, but alas, he didn't rely on protection anymore since he had been made this way for a reason. The IS was his enemy, well correctly, he was made to combat the IS should the weapon ever be misused, but the principle was the same.

Without making a sound, the warframe walked over to her and gave her a gentle pat on the head. The sudden feeling made her jump. The feeling of his metal skin on her scalp was a bit strange, but not unwelcome. She idly noted his skin was warm, just like a regular human's.

When Ichika stopped his ministration on her head, Houki flushed and took a step back. 'W-Well um, I just wanted to come and speak to you since we haven't for a while. I-I'm glad you're okay. Um, I'll just go now. Goodnight." The violet haired girl hastily made her way out of the room. In the hallway, Chifuyu looked mildly amused as the flustered girl hurried away.

She stepped into the room to see her brother standing back by his window.

"Ichika, are you okay?" She asked.

Truthfully, he was. However, he couldn't help this feeling of loneliness. He loved his sister, he really did. But with those years he spent away from her, and with the other children, he... Well, he practically grew up with hose children, trained with them, and then they all escaped. Ichika knew some of them left in groups to go into hiding, while he wasn't even sure about the fate of some of the other warframes.

As much as Ichika wanted to look for them and know they were alright, he couldn't necessarily leave IS Academy, not without frightening the whole Japanese government. He settled for giving his siter a slow and practiced nod of his horned head.

Chifuyu looked hesitant for just a moment, but allowed him this. She would ask again later. She knew he was having some troubling thoughts. He hid it well in his body language, but her sister's intution was telling her otherwise.

"Sleep well, okay Ichika? I'll be back in the morning." She said softly, before leaving his room.

Ichika continued to look through his window at the stars.

* * *

When hooded men approached Aya, she felt like she was once more going to be assaulted like last time. However, they immediately started talking about one of 'The Lords', rather than trying to take her. She had wondering what they meant by that, when they told her she had already met one of their Lords.

Thinking back, she wasn't sure what to imagine when they told her this. It could simply be a religious figure that she wasn't aware of, or they could possibly be speaking nonsense.

"It would seem this one needs proof of our Lords' greatness." One of the hooded men commented.

And so, Aya had been taken to a...secluded location. The men hadn't bothered telling her where this location was.

"Down here." The man leading them said. The building looked like an old shrine of sorts, giving it a somewhat pleasing feel. They went down a hidden staircase where it became darker, until they reached the bottom of the flight.

"My goodness." Aya's eyes were wide as she looked around, seeing a sizeable amount of people here, mainly men. She only made out at least five women among the men. That wasn't what had her attention. It was the statue, standing on top of an altar of some kind, surrounded with crimson lit lamps and candles.

The figure standing atop the altar had smooth featurres, compared to the one that had saved her life. It's head was featureless, and had some kind of horn sprouting from it's head. It's supposed face had a C shaped piece on it. In the statue's had was a sword, long and elegant like a katana.

"Now do you see? You have been blessed. You have met one of the Lords in person." One of the two men said to her.

"Who are you people?" She asked.

The hooded man shook his head. "We are but humble followers of the Lords. You too can follow the great ones, for you have been blessed. What say you, miss Sasaki? Will you join our cause?"

Aya swallowed. This was some sort of cult, from what she was getting, and yet, she now understood what they were talking about. These Great Ones that they spoke of, she was getting the sense that they really were deities walking amongst them. That creature from a week ago that saved her life, she felt it, that ominous yet divine aura it gave off was no joke. She still got tingles throughtout her body just thinking about it.

Was she truly prepared to follow and worship such beings? Was she even worthy? She hadn't realized she had spoken that last part out loud.

"You are indeed miss Sasaki. The Great Ones have blessed you. This is a lifetime opportunity that not many are given. It would be splendid to have you serve the Great Ones with us."

Aya was silent for a moment before she reached her hand out to the man. He took her hand and guided her to the bottom of the altar. The other members of the cult noticed and became silent.

"Brothers and sister. Welcome our newest member, Aya Sasaki. The Great Ones have blessed this one, and she will join our humble cause."

There was a round of applause before the hooded man too something from his robes, revealing a ruby ring. He slid it onto her right ring finger and said five words that would change her life.

"Welcome to the Red Veil."

* * *

Morning class was the same as ever, except for one thing.

"Hey, are you listening to me?!"

Ichika was taught to be patient, but this girl was really grating his nerves. The girl in question was named Cecilia Alcott, she was the representative candidate for England. She had pale blonde hair that curled like drills near the top of her hips, and her eyes were blue like crystals.

The warframe kept staring ahead as the british girl slammed her hands onto his desk. The other girls all gave her very questioning glances. Did she not see him slice apart an IS like it was nothing? The fact that he hasn't responded to her yet had them on edge.

"Alcott, sit down! Classes aren't over yet!" Chifuyu caught the british girl before she ended making a mistake.

The Brunhilde pinched the bride of her nose. Why did her class have to be filled all of the idiots? She really shouldn't be so surprised since she was the champion of the Mondo Grosso. Still, Chifuyu was a tough woman to please. Was Ichika the only exception to this rule? Yes.

The blonde huffed as she glared at Ichika while walking back to her seat.

Ichika regarded without so much as a glance. He knew better than to respond to something as trivial as a girl throwing a fit.

When class was over, Ichika made way for Chifuyu's office. He was going to need her for what he was about to do. Since last night, Ichika was letting some thoughts get bottled up, so who better to ask to relieve a troubled mind than his sister? Entering her office, Chifuyu looked up at him.

"Something wrong Ichika? I know that Alcott girl was bothering you." She said.

Ichika simply pointed at his wrist, and Chifuyu understood. She put Kurazakura's sealed form on her wrist and moved around her desk as Ichika kneeled on the floor. She mimicked his posture and placed herself right in front of him. Closing her eyes and bowing her head, Chifuyu relaxed and focused as she felt herself slowly becoming one with him.

She felt a slight gust of wind. Opening her eyes, she found herself in Ichika's mind, the very same temple where the boy was practicing katas. She saw the young boy waiting for her under a large sakura tree, holding a practice sword in his hand. Another was at his feet on the ground.

"I guess you're a little pent up?" The Brunhilde asked as she walked over.

"More like I'm a little irked, but that works too." Ichika replied as she picked up the sword.

Chifuyu smiled. It felt good to have him coming to her for things like this. It let her know he had a lot of trust in her. The Brunhilde took a stance.

"Ready when you are."

Ichika smirked at his sister as he took his sword with both hands and fell into a stance Chifuyu hadn't seen before.

"Try and keep up sis."

* * *

Oh my, how things are turning out. The first syndicate has been revealed, another warframe makes it's move, and Ichika now has to put up with you-know-who, as well as another certain someone who will be showing up soon.

A couple of notes, and even just some general thoughts before we end it here.

1\. Yes, some of you know who that was in the beginning of the chapter. I really loved how they pulled off that trailer, so I just had to use it.

2\. The Red Veil. Obviously, these people will not be seeing a lot of action, they believe in the application of stealth after all. You will see some of the syndicates, but not all of them. Some of them will be placed into the plot, others just simply won't exist.

3\. I was asked about having a Tenno equivalent, and someone even asked about Teshin I believe. For the Tenno equivalents, I don't want to give away too much info, else it won't be as meaningful when you see other warframes bonding with someone. As for Teshin, I do intend to bring him in. Not quite this soon, but he will be brought up a few times before he eventually makes his appearance. As an extra, for all intents and purposes, Chifuyu is Ichika's operator, he's not going to allow anyone else to perform transference with him.

That about covers it for now. So, once more sorry for the delay everyone. I hope you all had a good time reading, and I'll see you all again this month in the next update.


	6. Chapter 6

Back again with the next installment. I'm glad to see the last chapter didn't disappoint, so I'm hoping that will be the case with this one.

Enjoy everyone.

* * *

Chifuyu panted, her hands on her knees as her brother only looked a little winded. Though she could see the sweat that had formed upon his brow.

"What was that style?" She managed to ask through her heavy breathes.

Ichika smirked slightly.

"It's called the Decisive Judgement. It's main focus is double-handed strikes." He replied.

Chifuyu bowed her head as she felt her breathing start to even out. She let the wooden sword drop from her grip and settled for sitting on the soft grass. Ichika may have looked like he did when he was 8, but lord did he hit hard. Chifuyu had idly forgotten during their sparring that Ichika was essentially a living weapon.

The younger sibling sat down in front of his sister.

"Whoever trained you did one hell of a job." Chifuyu commented.

Ichika shrugged in response. "Eh, I think I got just a little sloppy." He said. Teshin certainly would have called him on that comment if he was here. The man who trained Ichika treated him like a prized student. He treated all of the warframes like his students. Teshin just so happened to be a very passionate, but disciplined man. And Ballas couldn't really do anything about that personality, seeing as Teshin was his best candidate for training his creations.

"Ready to go?" Ichika asked, having gotten up from his position.

Chifuyu sighed, but nodded as her brother ejected her from his mind. She opened her eyes to see that she was still kneeled in front of Ichika's white form. He seemed to regain his own bearing as his head tilted up for a moment before leveling his gaze back on her.

"Well, I'm glad to have helped you relieve stress. But I still have a lot of paperwork to do." Chifuyu stood to her feet, dusting off her skirt.

She gave Ichika that same smile that was only reserved for him. "Don't hesitate to ask me for help with anything."

Ichika nodded his horned head at her before leaving her office.

The halls were barely occupied, as usual. Ichika walked without so much as a sound being made. The girls liked to spend the majority of their free time outside or in their dorm rooms, so this left him to walk the halls with very little resistance.

Ichika wasn't sure why, but he had this sense. It was a feeling like something good was coming his way. The warframe inwardly smiled, as he moved through the halls with practiced grace most men don't have.

Before turning another corner, he idly wondered what Harumi was doing right now. As much as he loved his sister, Harumi was another person who he had let into his heart.

She couldn't be replaced.

"Um, Orimura?" A girl's curious voice caught his attention.

Turning his head to where it had originated, he saw someone whom he had seen in Chifuyu's homeroom. She had short dark hair that reached down to just above her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, and she had a pink accessory in her bangs. She was a good head shorter than him.

Seeing that she had his attention, she spoke again.

"I'm Shizune Takatsuki, and I wanted to ask if you would be willing to be our class representative?" She asked.

The warframe tilted his head curiously. Seeing that, she explained.

"All of the classes need a class representative. for the upcoming tournament. We wanted to nominate you, since you have a lot of skill." She said humbly.

While Ichika felt flattered, he was already a leader, in a sense. Maybe they should have asked Houki. She seemed to be the one who would be good for leading the class.

"We tried asking Shinonono, but she said that you would be better. And we asked that Alcott girl, but she...uh..." Shizune trailed off, not really wanting to finish that sentence. Ichika didn't need her to. If he could sigh, he would have. Cecilia Alcott certainly gave off that haughty air that drove away most. It didn't really take a genius to know why.

'Very well', he thought. He would do it, if only to keep the class from falling into chaos. Ichika mentally smirked at the irony of the thought. A living weapon of war wanting to prevent chaos.

And so it would be from this point, Ichika was now the class representative. He wondered what Chifuyu would think about this choice, but he it had it to be him, else someone try and lead the class into a hole they wouldn't be able to dig themselves out of.

He suddenly felt that irking feeling again, like he knew exactly what to expect.

* * *

The smoking remains of what used to be a Phantom Task hideout had been found by the local authorities three hours later. The military had also been alerted. IS units were scowering the place, and only found dead members of the terrorist organization. The police officers outside cringed at the damage done to the place. It was apparent that whoever had attacked the place had something against them.

One officer tossed up her lunch when she found a body with it's head smashed. The skull had actually been smashed down onto the woman's shoulders, almost as if her spine had collpased like an accordion.

"No human could have done this. This is just..." The officer in charge had to stop for a moment.

The IS pilots found it rather disturbing that something could actually take this many people off guard, no matter if they were a deadly terrorist group or not. The IS was the most powerful weapon in the world. It was a fact. So how did this happen?

"Do we have any sort of leads?" The officer in charge asked, her eyes sweeping over the bodies that littered the courtyard of the place.

The IS pilots all shook their heads. The one in charge of the group said, "Whoever did all of this is most likely long gone by now, judging by looks of the damage. I'd say we're a couple of hours late."

That didn't sit well with everyone present. That meant they had no way to determine if and when this mystery attacker would make another move. It was as if a ghost had simply passed through and left all of this carnage to be found in it's dreadful wake.

* * *

Ichika looked at the smoking targets with satisfication, and then to his trusty sidearm, Lato Prime. The ornate pistol's barrel was releasing a small trail of smoke, before he let it go from his grasp, and it disappeared into the void. A few feet behind was Maya, who looked very impressed with his marksmanship.

He had to resist shrugging his shoulders. Anyone could have good aim if they just practiced enough. However, before the warframes even learned to use guns, Teshin trained them in the ways of old. Daggers, axes, staves, swords, bows and the like. Teshin didn't leave out the applications of the more cumbersome weapons either, like hammers and greatswords. Hell, he even taught of few of them how to master the sycthe, one of the most deadly weapons made by man.

But Ichika liked to have a more practical arsenal. Besides his Nikana Prime, his favorite, he had Lato Prime, and a rifle. The warframe willed his weapon from the void and into his hands.

Ichika looked at the weapon like he was looking at an old friend.

Latron Prime seemed to shine with glee in the light.

As Ichika took aim with the rifle, Maya was gazing at the weapon with a mix of awe and confusion. She had never seen a weapon produced in such an elegant way. The way guns were designed now were to be more practical. From what she could see of it's exterior, there was no clear way to really see what kind of functions it had going for it. The engineering of it just seemed so...alien. However, at the same time, it was so beautifully crafted. Someone obviously put their entire being into crafting it.

And Maya could admire that, because she preferred to use guns herself.

The sound of the weapon firing broke her from her reverie, it was obviously a marksman rifle. The recoil, again from observation, seemed like it was manageable. Obviously accurate as well, seeing as Ichika continued to hit each target in it's head.

"Amazing." She said.

The warframe turned his head toward Maya, and then to Latron Prime. He could clearly see it in both her expression and body language that she wanted to try it out. He held the weapon in both hands and held it out towards her.

The green haired teacher blinked before she smiled and approached him. She gently took the rifle into her hands, it felt like it was around the same weight as an M4, if only just slightly heavier.

She blushed as she felt the warmth of the warframe behind her. He was positioning her into the same stance he took when he handled the weapon. The rifle felt...right. It felt right, like the Type 89 she was used to using with her IS.

Ichika then moved away and watched her, as she leaned forward about an inch and took aim. She slowly squeezed the trigger, and when the gun sounded off, she felt the weapon kick into her shoulder. It wasn't bad, but she could see that it fit a weapon of this category.

Maya smiled as she took her position again and continued to fire the weapon at a steady pace until she heard the weapon click. Well, she had her fun. Maya handed Latron Prime back to Ichika, who placed it on his back. The rifle then disapeared like it was never there.

"That was fun Orimura, thanks for the sample. You'll knock out this tournament with your skillset no problem." She said, getting a humble bow of the head in reply.

"You can keep practicing if you want to. Sadly, I have some paperwork to do in my office. Don't work yourself too hard Orimura." Ichika watched Maya go as she left the training area. Despite his discipline, he did happen to stare at the casual sway of the green haired woman's luscious hips.

"There you are!" Another voice, Houki, called out to him. The violet haired girl was jogging, seemingly out of breath.

"I was looking all over for you." She said, catching her breath.

The warframe titled his head, his golden highlights shined brighter as the sun gazed down at him through the large windows of the training area. Houki found herself mesmerized by the sight for a few moments, before shaking her head. Ichika was still waiting for her to explain.

"That British representative pilot said she wanted to challenge you to a duel. So I came to see if you wanted to train a little bit before you accepted the challenge. Uh, I'm assuming you'll accept it." She added sheepishly at the end.

Ichika nodded. Of course the snobby representative pilot was causing trouble, and Ichika was wanting to train a little more today. He just wondered how Houki would keep up. It would be prudent to keep in mind that their skills with the sword are vastly far apart from each other.

But he did know that Houki was also the champion of the most recent Kendo tournament, so he had faith that she could keep up... a little bit anyway.

...

Well, she was trying...at the very least. Ichika took a casual step back, leaning his torso away from a horizontal swing. He raised the shinai in his hand and blocked another strike with ease. The attacker, Houki, was panting heavily as she took a step back to evaluate the situation. She had been on the offensive for five minutes, and she wasn't even close to breaking his defenses.

It was actually quite frustrating, but Houki had to remind herself that he had destoryed an umanned IS as if it were nothing but a nuisance. He definitely had built up his skills during his time gone. A chill went down her spine at the thought of him using his actual blade against her.

Ichika's posture was relaxed, but poised to move at a moments notice. The warframe was patient, but he felt that it was time to stop his friend before she ended up embarassing herself. So with a casual twist of the mock blade around his wrist, he set himself into a stance.

Seeing this, Houki took her own stance to defend herself.

A strong pivot of the heel brought the warframe within at least another foot closer to her. His shinai struck forward in a slash movement. Houki barely had time to register the movement of the weapon. She raised her shinai up in an attempt to block the attack. The amount of force behind the swing made her wince. Honestly, she was a little surprised that the kendo tool didn't break.

She saw Ichika take a fast step back before bring the hilt of the shinai up to eye leveling before thrusting the point forward. That pivot of his had already pretty much put him right past her defense. She was just slow to react the his second attack as she felt the tip of his shinai poke her shoulder. He didn't aim at her chest for a reason, knowing how she was when they were kids.

Though to be quite fair, her legendary anger was something Ichika learned not to fear. He had experienced much worse after all.

"So I lost that quickly huh?" Houki didn't sound upset. She was a little disappointed in herself, but she supposed practicing martial arts would only get you so far, compared to...well, whatever she was thinking Ichika may have seen or experienced.

Ichika nodded, but his body language gave away no sign of any sort of smug emotion. Teshin taught him better than that. Of course, when the time came for the tournament, he was going to make sure Cecilia Alcott knew better as well.

He would teach her a lesson in humility.

* * *

So this chapter is just a hint shorter than the others. Don't worry, I'll try to make sure I don't let this happen too often. However, life is pretty tiring as late, so I really had to put in the effort to make sure this got out before the next month.

Now, instead of notes this chapter, I'm responding to a few inquiries. Love this part.

**Angron**: So, to bring up just a little in-game experience, yes. Ichika can bond to others, but the part that really makes the bonds actually work is if the warframe and operator actually want to bond with one another. If you've played or watched gameplay of The Sacrifice, it's kind of like Umbra's case once you finally get him. You can see into the warframe's mind, but just because you can do that doesn't mean they'll allow you to control them. It has to be a mutual want, doubly so since in this story they've all retained complete sentience.

Are there others just as experienced as him, besides Teshin? Yes, some are Primes and some aren't. I'd rather not spoil who is who just yet though. Apologies. But the numbers are less than 10, if that helps bring any comfort to you.

**mgasmsms**: Hydroid huh? I'm not certain yet if I intend to make him a Prime, but trust me when I say this, I'm going to have a lot of fun introducing him to the story when his time comes. And thank you for your feedback.

I hope those answers are satisfactory for now. Up next, we look into the case of the Shaman himself, Cecilia's defeat, and Rin's reacquaintance with the one and only Excalibur Prime/Ichika.

See you guys in September, and have a good day.


	7. Chapter 7

I apologize for the late publishing of this chapter, but other things have been taking up more of my free time.

Please enjoy the story.

* * *

Cecilia Alcott was one unhappy girl. Why was this? It should be rather obvious. The class nominated that...that stupid male as their representative! Why was she not chosen?! It made no sense whatsoever. She was raised by nobility, she had class, grace unmatched by any other.

And a really fucking big self serving ego. Mainly the reason why she was not chosen in the first place.

What was so special about that man anyway? So what if he had a new IS? He obviously wasn't able to completely use it since he had no way to combat a fully mobile IS. The IS was the greatest weapon ever made, and only women were able to use it to it's fullest potential. So no, she didn't believe that Ichika Orimura could live up to the expectations of being class representative.

Lady Luck has decided to be cruel however, and Cecilia would find out relatively quickly that she was the object of her ire.

"Um...Cecilia?"

The blonde Brit snapped her head toward who spoke and glared. "What?"

"You...You were staring at the floor so we just...wanted to know if you were alright." A rather timid Japanese girl said to her.

"Well clearly I'm in good condition. You have no need to worry over someone of high status as I." And there was her haughty attitude once more.

Yeah, Lady Luck definitely wasn't having it today.

...

Ichika was fully mobile now. He was staring at his reflection on the metal of the walls of the lab. A faceless human-like being stood in the reflection, copying his ragged movements. He clenched his alloy hands into fists, rage beginning to take over.

That...bastard! What had he done to him?! Were the other children like this as well?!

His raging thoughts were put on hold as the woman in charge of overseeing the care of the warframes came in.

Harumi Kiyama.

"Hello again Ichika." She spoke softly. "Or Excalibur Prime, as Ballas has fondly named you."

Not a bad name for a weapon he supposed. After all, that was the whole reason why the man was doing this. To make a weapon that could trump the IS. Still, it was a little too flashy for his own tastes.

"Are you ready to meet your trainer?" She asked.

Ichika nodded, not like he could speak anymore.

Harumi smiled. "Please follow me then, you'll all be training together."

...

Ichika shook his head at the memory. It seemed the past still liked to haunt him. Well, no matter. It had already happened and nothing could change that outcome.

"Are you okay Orimura?" Maya's mother-like voice came from over his shoulder.

The warframe nodded his head and slowly stood up. Today was the day of the tournament. He didn't have time to be dwelling in the past. It was ridiculous he had to keeep reminding himself of that.

Checking himself over, he noted everything was in peak condition, and motioned for Maya to exit through the door and followed closely behind her.

"So do you have a plan to beat Ms. Alcott?" The green haired teacher asked.

Ichika nodded. He had a few suprises in store for this event, and he was honestly excited at the prospect of getting to use his...other gifts once more. He hadn't used them since he and the other warframes broke out of Ballas' facility and fled out into the open world.

So yes, Ichika was certain that he would defeat Cecila Alcott, and humiliate her.

/

They say mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery, but Chifuyu found it rather distasteful to be given credit for work that wasn't her's. The Brunhilde was currently training herself, a habit she had dropped over the years, just like she dropped her title of the champion of the Mondo Grosso.

Today was the day Ichika would be fighting that snobby Alcott girl. Obviously she had no doubts that he would win. The only thing she was genuinely concerned about was how far he would go to win. She'd seen him fight, fought alongside him even. She was aware of just how much damage he could cause if he really wanted to.

Chifuyu exhaled as she relaxed her stance, sheathing the katana she had been practicing with. She set the weapon down on the floor with a soft clink and sat down, adopting the kneeling positon she had come to pick up from her brother. Taking a deep breath, she held it for a few seconds before releasing.

She felt more calm, if only slightly.

"Brats..." She sighed.

Why did children have to be so difficult? Honestly, why couldn't they be- Actually, she shouldn't finish that thought. It was wrong of her to say they should be like Ichika, when he didn't get a chance to finish his childhood.

Chifuyu smiled. No one saw her smile ever, except for Ichika, and one time Maya had as well.

"I think he'll like seeing the town. I'll make some plans for some free time." With that in mind, the Brunhilde got up from her kneeling position, and moved towards where the girls locker room was. She would take a quick shower first, then oversee her brother's match against the British pilot. Then when that was said and done, her and Ichika would take some time to go see the town, just like when they were younger.

It would be the next step to make up for the time lost between them.

"Right." With that, Chifuyu stripped and deposited her dirty clothes in a locker.

* * *

Being taken into government custody for eight years wasn't what she would call pleasant, but she had dealt with worse. Imagine her surprise when Tabane Shinonono of all people approached her.

Well, she actually fell from the sky in a large carrot, but the point still stood.

"You're Harumi Kiyama." The purple haired scientist spoke. It was not a question.

The brunette woman blinked slowly, before opening the door to her home, provided by the government of course. She'd been released from custody a year ago, but they still kept an eye on her. Tabane stepped inside, finding the brunette's kitchen.

"You drink coffee?" Harumi asked, moving toward the counter.

"Cream and two sugars." Tabane replied, her eyes practically glued to the woman. Understandable, she supposed. She was the head researcher of the warframe project after all, no regards to Ballas of course. He'd only created the Helminth, which in turn created the warframes.

Harumi handed the purple haired woman a full mug, the liquid inside a light shade of brown. Taking a sip, Tabane found the drink to her taste.

"Why?" She asked.

Harumi sighed, sitting down across from her. She knew what she was asking. She took a large gulp of her own black coffee, before answering.

"There isn't much to say why. I was offered an opportunity of a lifetime, and I took it." Rather bland, but Tabane was no fool. One would think so, given her demeanor was usually very childish. She knew how to read between the lines. So with that in mind, Tabane was able to decipher the actual message in the statement.

"You didn't have a choice, so you took the highest spot in the project." She stated.

Harumi nodded in reply, taking a sip from her mug.

"As you know, when you created the IS many were quick to realize that it was a valuable asset to have, not only as the most advanced system in the world, but also a weapon."

Harumi paused to take a sip from her mug.

"Doctor Ballas was quite infuriated with you since he lost his spot as one of the world's greatest researchers, after the reconstruction of society of course." She explained.

"So imagine my surprise when he shows up at my door, offering me a chance to create something great. Something divine, he said. And so, he had me help him create his...weapons. The warframes. Bio-mechanical weapons capable of feats only man could dream of." Harumi paused again to make sure Tabane had been following along.

"Why children?" Tabane asked. "I may be a little excessive, but I have standards, believe it or not."

Harumi chuckled beefore taking another sip of her coffee.

"Doctor Ballas had been doing a lot of research before hand. Before we even took the children, his...Helminth serum was tested on adults. Nothing special about them, just your average male or female adult."

Harumi's eyes darkened.

"Their bodies completely rejected the strand. The results were...less than pleasant. Their mentality had been broken beyond any sort of medical repair, making them behave like any wild animal would. So we had no choice but to put them down. Of course, despite this, Doctor Ballas and I discovered that the serum needed a certain type of host."

Tabane frowned as she picked up for her.

"So you chose to use children. They don't have fully developed bodies, but they're much more adaptive, more welcoming. But in the logs I found, Ballas said he only took the most promising." She said.

Harumi nodded.

"Upon doing more research, I found that the Helminth can be placed into anyone, but it couldn't be just anyone who could actually survive the process of turning. We picked certain individuals that met the genetic criteria required to actually have a chance of adapting to the Helminth." She explained.

Tabane processed the information before nodding.

"So that's what he meant by the most promising. He must have done quite a lot of worldwide searching to find suitable hosts." The genius said, getting a nod from the brunette.

The two sat in slience. It felt like hours before Tabane looked Harumi in the eyes and said, "I know the world is crazy, but I want to know. What purpose do these warframes really serve? Why did Ballas create them in the first place?"

Harumi sighed.

"As you already know, you're the reason Doctor Ballas made the warframes. So not only was it out of anger that he did so, but it was also to spite you. He knew about every child."

Tabane felt her hands slowly clench the hem of her dress.

"So he knew about how close he was to Chi-chan and I. How close he was to the strongest woman in the world." She said.

Harumi was silent, which confirmed her statement.

"As for the purpose of the warframes, Ballas had designed them to battle your IS, to best it even. However, after his...untimely demise, the warframes fled. Scattering to the wind. I think they serve a much better purpose however."

The brunette's statment made Tabane look at her, curiosity ever evident in her gaze.

Harumi smiled. "They have the power to create balance, and they will uphold it."

* * *

Ichika had been in the maintenance bay for the majority of his free time. For his upcoming duel of the Cecilia Alcott, he'd been working on his equipment. Mainly his one true means of actually fighting on even ground with an IS. Or perhaps it should be phrased, his only means off fighting the in equal airspace.

As most know, the IS was originally supposed to be used for space exploration. However, for whatever reason those plans had been stopped, and instead research focused more on making the IS more suitable for being used in tournament styled sports, as well as being used as military assets.

It was important to remember that the warframes were made to combat the IS is every aspect possible. That meant being capable of flight as well.

"Orimura, are you ready?" Maya's voice sounded behind him. He didn't turn to look at her, but he did nod his head to let her know he'd heard her.

"Is...that what you're using?" Maya could just barely make out sort kind of long shape behind his body, but had no idea what it truly was.

Ichika nodded. Maya smiled and wished him luck before walking off to head up to the monitoring area. Chifuyu would be watching this match, no doubt about it. And while she had seen him in combat once already, she hadn't everything he was capable of.

She should see what a squad of warframes coud do together...

He shook off his amusement in the thought and turned his head toward the large bay door that began to open. He could hear the students of ISA cheering loudly outside. Well...he supposed he could give them a show.

In his vision, a small digital message was displayed.

[Archwing link established]

Ichika inwardly smiled. The construct of white and gold wings sprang to life, chasing down his figure before attaching itself to his back. A notification of a successful attachment was all the encouragement he needed before he levitated from the ground, and took off a burst of speed.

His white and gold form was seen by the ISA populace, all of them gazing in shock and awe as he gracefulllly flew into their view.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Orimura can fly!"

"Look at his wings! They're so pretty!"

"He looks just like an angel!"

An angel that was capable of killing an entire city if he so desired.

Up in the monitoring area, Maya and Chifuyu were just as surpised as the students. However, Chifuyu smiled as Ichika yet again managed to exceed her expectations. This day just a whole lot more interesting.

"I...wow. So that was what that was." Maya commented first.

"He's just full of surprises." Chifuyu added her two cents.

Outside, Cecilia wasn't happy. The sight of the flying warframe angered her, along with the cheering of the students. Why were they cheering for him?! Why was he so special?!

"I see you have your own set of wings. Well don't think that you will best me! I'll show you not to make a fool of Cecilia Alcott!" The British blonde yelled.

Ichika wasn't fazed. He was inwardly giving her a deadpan stare. Gods, this girl was so childish. How was she an IS pilot? She was really embarrassing her country by acting this way in a tournament.

He reached out, Latron Prime materializing from the void into his hand. He held the rifle firmly as the timer counted down from 5. Cecilia had her own rifle in hand. A Starlight Mk. III laser rifle.

When the timer buzzed off, the two sprang into action.

Ichika was a blur of white and gold as he rolled around the shots of Cecilia's rifle. When he had time to retaliate, he would level Latron Prime towards her. The marksman rifle growled with each shot, slowly eating away bit of her shields.

"Let's see how you handle this!" Cecilia stopped moving as the wings of her IS detached and separated into four bits. The bits were automatic drones that each fired lasers at him relentlessly. The warframe was forced to dodge the countless shots being sent at him. It was also during this time that Ichika noticed the British representative wasn't moving.

How interesting.

'So while her drones are engaged, she can't move. I'm assuming that in order to do that, she needs to have solid concentration. Well then...'

Ichika surged forward, Latron Prime barking with each shot. The bits now cirlced around Cecilia's IS, trying to prevent the shots from meeting their mark.

'Just as I suspected. It requires too much focus for her to move and operate her drones at the same time.'

With her tactic figured out, Ichika knew what he had to do. The wings on his back began to shift slightly, multiple small holes on the underside of his wings opened up. A salvo of rockets began to fly forward, their targets were the drones.

Cecilia panicked when she saw what he had intended. Without her drones to defend her, he would be able to get close to her easily.

"No!"

Ichika rolled to the side as the blonde raised her laser rifle at him and began to return fire.

"I cannot be beaten!"

Ichika ignored her and continued to accelerate towards her. Latron Prime clicked and he let go of the rifle. Now empty handed, Ichika had another idea in mind. If he were to guess right, he knew that he'd landed plenty of shots of the blue IS. So all he needed to do was land one good hit.

Dodging another series of shots from the laser rifle, Ichika closed the distance between them. Ichika clapped his hands together, beofre pulling them apart, and his Exalted Blade was now grip in hand. The blue energy of the void waved around the blade like the northern lights waved around the stars.

"This ends here!" Cecilia fired off another shot, the laser bolt grazing his body, but the warframe twirled his body again, the Exalted Blade gleaming excitedly as it was swung down over her head.

Her shields were depleting fast upon contact with the deadly blade. Her shields flared as they drained, the warframe using his overwhelming strength the push down on her. The two were falling to the ground fast. During this lock Cecilia tried to level her rifle right at his chest, but her Is had chosen this moment to lock down. The Absolute Defense system doesn't lie. Which meant if she had actually tried to keep up her inevitable struggle against the warframe, she could have been killed.

The sound of the horns blaring through the sound system let everyone know who the winner of the match was.

Before impacting the ground, Ichika grabbed Cecilia. He wanted to teach her a lesson, not kill her. His archwing adjusted so that the wings slanted upward slightly and brought him to a slower hovering speed, allowing him to safely drop the British pilot on the ground.

"Orimura is the winner of this match!"

There were cheers for the white and gold figure. His faceless gaze scanning the crowd before settling on one person in particular. Houki was once again displaying the expression of a fish out of water. He inwardly felt amusement.

He then turned his head towards the large rectangular box where the monitors were watching. He could just feel the smile his older sister was giving him from the tinted window.

* * *

The tournament taking place at ISA had been broadcasting. There were a lot of mixed reactions from the general populace, the main one being shock. Shock that a male was able to use an IS and had even defeated a well known pilot with it.

Well known to England anyway.

Nekros had been watching the spectacle. If he still had a face, he'd have smirked. Excalibur always had been one for being the spearhead of their not-so-little family. It was why they all followed him as their defacto leader.

The harbinger of death looked to the horizon. A monorail train was getting ready to stop by, he would use it to reach the place that was sheltering his friend. For too long, he'd been stalking prey from the shadows, so it would be nice to actually greet a familiar face. The shaman stood up to his feet before approaching the edge of the building he was standing on. The wind gently passed him by, his wings moving ever slightly to it's inaudible tune.

The warframe jumped.

Now was the time, this world has been plagued long enough. Balance would be restored, and it would start with IS Academy.

* * *

I'm finally back with the next installment! I deeply apologize to everyone who has been waiting for this one. But wrenches often get thrown at me for whatever reason.

So a few things to point out. First off is Tabane and Harumi's conversation. Some of the information they talk is actually a reference to Halo: The Fall of Reach. Second, a line during Chifuyu's thoughts is another reference, won't say what this time. :) And you read the last part correctly. With the show starting to get a little more fire under the pot, we're going to see a little more of that Tenno action we all know and love.

One last thing I want to address is this. I looked back and I saw a ccomment of Ichika essentially being Umbra. True, with information being leaked to certain individuals, and Ichika reliving his memories with his sister, he is very much like Umbra in those cases. However, keep in mind Umbra was also created after the warframes were. I need you all to keep in mind there's still a lot that can be experimented with when it comes to these two worlds clashing together.

Now then, I believe that is all for this update. Thanks for being patient with me, I know it was a troublesome wait. With plot bunnies floating around, and having a whacky schedule, things are a little hectic. Regardless, I plan to keep updating.

Have a nice day everyone. See you next time.


End file.
